Viscount-class Star Defender
The Viscount-class Star Defender was a very large warship developed by the Mon Calamari. Characteristics Dimensions The Viscount-class Star Defender was envisioned as the New Republic equivalent of an Executor-class Star Dreadnaught. As such, it measured about 17 kilometers. Although slightly shorter in length than the Executor-class, the superior construction skills of the Mon Calamari enabled the vessel to carry more starfighters, as well as having a substantially smaller crew. Its shape was also more compact than the Executor-class and it had heavier and more extensive armor. Dozens of docking clamps allowed the vessel to directly dock with many other capital ships at the same time Offensive and Defensive Capabilities The Viscount-class was equipped with over nine thousand weapons systems, including heavy turbolaser batteries and assault concussion missile launchers. The Viscount also had heavy ion cannons, point defense laser cannons, and several tractor beam prohectors. The Viscount's shields had backups, like previous Calamari designs, and were highly regenerative. The computers, electronical equipment and sensor systems were above and beyond those of an Imperial Star Dreadnought and it carried a HoloNet transceiver. Complement Ships of the class could carry hundreds of starfighters, as well as dozens of small support vessels, including frigate-sized ships. The class was also fitted with enough life pods to carry the crews of the ship itself, and also those of whatever smaller support vessels were carried at the time. This totalled a passenger-capacity of 500,000 individuals. The ship was also equipped with enough repair droids to cover the entire vessel during emergency repairs. The Viscount-class usually was a flagship, and was acompinied by a fleet. It also could act as a space station, with it being able to clamp onto other ships. History Develepment Despite having beaten the Executor in combat at the Battle of Endor, Admiral Ackbar saw the various Super Star Destroyers still in the Imperial hands, as the main threat to the burgening New Republic navy. With this in mind, he proposed the creation of Super Star Destroyer-scale warships to counter the Imperial vessels. It would take many years of development, and the threat of the rogue Executor-class Star Dreadnaught Intimidator during the Black Fleet Crisis to hasten the development program and actually produce the larger dreadnaughts. Despite having used Mon Calamari battleships and Bulwark-class battlecruisers in previous decades, the New Republic had never constructed anything on this scale before. Regardless, the Mon Calamari began development on the Viscount-class. Construction on the class dragged on, as the threat posed by the Imperial Remnant diminished and the New Republic captured several Star Dreadnaughts during the war. Active service The first ship of the class, the Viscount, was eventually completed in time to engage rogue Imperial warlords, pirates and hideouts. It was noted as being commissioned in 25 ABY, shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong War began. The extent of the Viscount's Civil War-related battles and their duration is not known, but they constituted the only events in which the Viscount-class was used for its original purpose, battling Imperial targets, including at least one Star Dreadnaught. The Viscount-class, along with the Corellian Strident-class, marked the first of the Star Defender ship type. When the New Republic government transitioned into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, the Viscount-class continued to play a prominent role in the fleet, with the ships being regarded as the backbone of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force. The power of a Viscount-class Star Defender was evident during the Battle of Mon Calamari. The Viscount herself was part of a trio of heavy warships, including the Executor-class Guardian and the Mon Calamari battle cruiser Harbinger, that was deployed by the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet so they could use their heavy, long-range weapons to assault the center of the Yuuzhan Vong armada. The heavy guns of the Viscount were instrumental in destroying numerous warships. By the Sith-Imperial War, the Viscount-class and other heavy warship-designs had been phased out of service, as fleet doctrine moved towards smaller, compact weapons-platforms, like the Scythe-class main battle cruiser. Category:Star Dreadnoughts